Conveying apparatus



Nov, 29, 1949v J. v. DAvls CONVEYING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet l FiledMay 24, 1947 frraPr/y Jol/ff K ,Dar/.s

@www5 y NOV. 29, 1949 1 v, DAvlS 2,489,404

CONVEYING APPARATUS Filed May 24, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov.29, 1949 CONVEYING APPARATUS John V... Davis, Detroit,M'ch.,.as`signorlto 4The -Udylite Corporation, Detroit, eMich., 'aVcorporation of Delaware Application May 24, 1947, SerialNo. 750,198

2 Claims. `1 The presentinvention pertains to anovel conveying apparatusand method useful particularly lin electroplating yand falso applicablein other processes.

The invention `relates to the basket type of conveyor Vconsisting of Vaseries of baskets mounted von parallelgaxes and adapted to empty oneinto the other. Insuch conveyors alternate :baskets are emptied .intothe intervening baskets, and the intervening baskets are then emptiedinto theaalternate baskets to move the work from one end of the conveyorto the other. It is apparent vthat only Ahalf of the baskets are filledatany given time and that the resulting waste of'floor space issubstantial.

lTheprincipal object of this invention is to provide an `apparatus fofthis general character wherein considerably less'than half of the totalnumber of baskets are-empty at anyzgiven time, so that the -waste offloorispace is correspondingly reduced. This result is realized byoverturningonly one basket yat a time but in a particular sequence.Thiszsequence is in the 'direction opposite to the'flow of work alongthe conveyor.

lIn a series of eight baskets, for example, only one basket inleightneedbeempty, and the waste ofsoor 'space is thereby reduced from 50% to121/2% of the total space. Inthe case of a conveyor having a:substantially --larger number of baskets, the baskets are divided `intogroups of successive members, tand each group is operated in the mannerdescribed, with corresponding memberssof the groups being actuatedsimultaneously.

-Inthe preferred embodiment ofthe invention, each basket is providedwith an :axial gear, and the gears are engaged successively in theproper sequence by rack .bars mountedspirallyion'airotatably andslidablymounted rod. On intermittent rotation of the rod, the racks engage thegears successivelyin asequence opposite tothe direction of work travel.Itisevident, however, that other means of actuating-thefbaskets may beemployed and one such alternative means is described herein.

The invention isfully disclosed by way of example inthe followingdescription and in the accompanying drawings in :which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partlyimsection,

.of a mechanismaccording to the invention;

Figure 2 is a section on the linev 2-2 oIfFigf ure 1;

' Figure 3. is a detail longitudinal section von .the line 3--3.ofFigure 2;

Figure 4 is a sectionon the line 4--4 of vFigurel;

Figure 5 is a diagram ofthe baskets in end view;

Figure .6 isa perspective view of a modification;

lFigure 7 is a section on theline 1-1 of Figure-.6;

Figure 8is afperspective of .anothermodication, and

:FigureQ .is `a section thereof on :the line f9-.9 of Figurec.

-Referenceto theseviews .will now be made by use of likel charactersvwhichare employed to .designate corresponding parts throughout.

`In Fig-ure 1 is shown'a plating'apparatus including-a receptacle lwhich may be a single tank or a series of tanks as already known inthe'art.

- A lnumber of spaced shafts 2 are `journalled across thetank I, andeach such shaft 'carriesa IbasketlS-havingla flat wall 4 extendinglongitudinally of .the shaft, a curved longitudinal wall fbenton an arcof ,fend walls 6 and anopen side -1. The side Tisuppermost andhorizontalwhen :thebasket is positioned in the tank IJaIId is adapted to bekbrought over the `openside of the -adjacentzbueket by a90turn of thecorresponding shaft-2. Each'basket carries :ian an; gularllip f8 'fat`the `longitudinal edge .nearer its shaft 2; for thepurpose'ofpreventingspillingfof the material in owing 'from'ianoverturnedbasket to1the1basket .beneath it.

-For .operatingfpurposes each lshaft-2 carries `va gearrseatfagiven'side ofthe Atank I. Adjacent to vthe gears is4 slidably mounted amultiple 'rack barl0'.in=suitab1e bearingsll. The barIll'carriesnazirack.fl2ffor'each gear 9 in a seriesofbaskets-fandthe'rracksfor a given series are spaced equallyzaroundthebar, "as 'shown more clearly Figure 2. .-'Forfexampla if there areeightbaskets in afseries, there are =eight=racks I2 spaced"equailyearoimdthe bar l 0 "Sand arranged length# wiseof=.the bar tofmesh'respectivelyiwithf thecorresponding gears on turning the bar, as willpresently be shown.

In order to rotate the bar I in its bearings l I, there is slidablymounted on the bar a ratchet Wheel I3 having equally spaced teethcorresponding in number to the baskets, gears and racks. The slidablemounting is accomplished by a spline connection I4 between the bar I0and the ratchet wheel, and the latter is held against sliding movementby lingers I5 extending from the xed structure into engagement withgrooved hubs I6 onthe sides of the ratchet wheel, as may be seen inFigures 1 and 4. Beneath the ratchet Wheel I3 is mounted a verticalcylinder I1 having an upwardly extending piston rod I8. The lattercarries a pivotally mounted escapement pawl I9 biased by a spring 20 todrive the ratchet Wheel as the piston rod moves in Ya given directionand to hold the wheel at the end of such movement, while slipping idlyover the wheel in the opposite direction, as well known in connectionwith this escapement device in other applications. It is evident thatthe operation of the cylinder I'I and piston rod I8 brings the racks I2intermittently into engagement with the corresponding gears 9.

The sliding movement or" the rod le to turn the rack-engaged gear 9 andthe basket correspending thereto is accomplished by a mechanism ,Y

of the yoke is suitably articulated to the xed I. structure by a linkage24, and an intermediate Z point is attached to the piston rod 25extending through an end of the cylinder 2|. The opposite end of thecylinder preferably has a pivotal attachment 26 to the fixed structureof the apparatus in order to permit the required swivel movement in theoperation of this mechanism. It is now apparent that pressure in thecylinder 2 I may be utilized to shift the bar it first in one directionto overturn a given basket and then to shift the bar in the oppositedirection to return the basket to its original position. The ilowl ofiluid to the cylinders II and 2| is timed to turn the ratchet wheel I3one notch and then oscillate the bar Ill in the manner described.

In Figures 1 and 3 the baskets and the corresponding gears are marked#1, #2, #3, #4., #5, #6, #7 and #8 trom right to left. Regardless of thesequence of operation of the baskets, the Work necessarily ilows fromleftV to right since the baskets turn from left to right in emptying.However, the sequence of operation of the baskets is in the directionopposite to the work travel or from right to left, as will now be shown.In Figure 1, gear #8 is in mesh with its corresponding Y rack I2. Afterthe gear has been oscillated in the manner'described, the rack bar II!is given one-eighth turn clockwise by the ratchet mechanism, as may beseen in Figure 4. This movement brings a rack bar into mesh with gear#2. The

Y operation is repeated to turn the baskets succesthere are four basketsin a series, and several such series are provided. The members of eachseries are designated at #1l-l, #2A, #3A and #4A. The construction ofthe baskets and the gears 29 carried thereby is the same as previouslydescribed and need not be detailed again.

The slidably mounted rack bar 39, however, carries sets of four racks32, spaced apart around the bar 30, as shown in Figure 7. A set of fourracks is provided for each set of four baskets. The rack bar is turnedintermittently and oscillated by a mechanismvsimilar to that shown inFigures l and 4. The baskets are operated in the sequence #1A, #2A, #3Aand #4rd, while the work necesarily flows in the opposite direction.

Figures 8 and 9 illustrate another mechanism for accomplishing the sameresult. The baskets #113, #213, #3B and #4B, are constructed andarranged in the manner already described. A shaft 4d is rotatablymounted lengthwise of the individual baskets or transversely of theseries and carries loose pulleys #1B, #2B #3B and #lll-3, correspondingrespectively to the baskets. Adjacent to each pulley, a clutch member 4Iis slidably keyed at i2 on the shaft 49. A shifter fork '43 is suspendedfrom each pulley and has one end articulated at 44 to thexed structure.Springs 45 normally hold the members 4I out of engagement with theirrespective pulleys. Adjacent to each fork 43 is mounted a solenoid 46having an armature 41 connected to the fork and adapted to pull thelatter against the tension of the spring 45, whereby to draw the clutchmember 4I into engagement with its pulley. The circuit 4l of eachsolenoid is controlled by a switch 4S. A cable 49 is secured to eachpulley and connected to the corresponding basket, passing over a guidepulley 59 as shown in Figure 8.

A means (not shown) is provided for operating the switches 48successively in order to actuate the pulleys and the baskets in thesequence #13, #213, #3B and #4.B, while the work travels in the oppositedirection as already set forth.

In each of the described embodiments, the baskets of each group areactuated in a sequence having a direction opposite to the ow of work. Inthe conventional basket type of conveyor, alternate baskets empty intothe intervening baskets, and consequently only the alternate baskets orthe intervening baskets are loaded at any given time. In other words,only half. of the baskets are lled. The oor space occupied by theremaining half of the baskets represents a substantial economic loss. Y

In the present invention the corresponding loss for empty baskets isconsiderably less. In a typical group of eight baskets the loss is only121/2 percent. In a group of four baskets the loss is 25 percent; and inlarger groups the loss is correspondingly smaller.

Although specific embodiments of the invention have been illustrated anddescribed, it will be understood that various alterations in the detailsof construction may be made without departing from the scope of theinvention as indicated by the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a conveying appara-tus, a plurality lof baskets pivotally mountedon parallel axes, each basket being adapted to empty into the nextbasket in a given direction, a gear on each of said axes, a rotatablyand slidably mounted rodadjacent to said gears, rack bars arranged in aspiral series on said rod to engage said gears successively in asequence opposite to the rst named direction, and means forintermittently rotating and reciprocating said rod.

2. In a conveying apparatus, a plurality of baskets pivotally mounted onparallel axes, each basket being adapted to empty into the next basketin a given direction, said baskets beingr arranged in groups of equalnumbers of successive baskets, a gear on each of said axes, a rodrotatably and slidably mounted adjacent to said gears, rack barsarranged in spiral series on said rod to engage corresponding members ofsaid groups simultaneously and in a sequence opposite to the rst nameddirection, and means for intermittently rotating and reciprocating saidrod.

JOHN V. DAVIS.

REFERENCES CITED Name Date Powell Nov. l5, 1927 Number

